Acoustic Emission Method

History. Fundamentals. Applications.

 Outline
1. Acoustic Emission phenomena.
2. History of Acoustic Emission from Stone Age to these days.
3. AE instrumentation:
1. Sensors, preamplifiers, cables (types, specific applications).
2. Data Acquisition systems (analog and digital, signal digitation,
filtration).
4. Principals of AE data measurement and analysis.
5. Source location. Attenuation, dispersion, diffraction and scattering
phenomena.
6. AE in metals.
7. Relationship between AE and fracture mechanics parameters and effects
of AE.
8. AE applications.
9. International AE standards.
10. Conclusions.
Definition of Acoustic Emission Phenomenon

 Acoustic Emission is a phenomenon of

sound and ultrasound wave radiation in
materials undergo deformation and
fracture processes.
 Who was the First?
He was the First who used AE as a They were the First who used AE
forecasting tool as an alarm system
 Early History of AE

‫נד‬,‫קול זעקה מבבל ושבר גדול מארץ כשדים ירמיהו נא‬

“ The sound of a cry from Babylon and the sound of great fracture
<comes> from the land of the Chaldeans.” Jeremiah 51:54
 One of the first sources that associates sound with fracture can
be found in the Bible.
 Probably the first practical use of AE was by pottery makers,
thousands of years before recorded history, to asses the quality
of there products.
 Probably the first observation of AE in metal was during twinning
of pure tin as early as 3700 B.C.
 The first documented observation of AE in Middle Ages was
made by an Arabian alchemist, Geber, in the eighth century.
Geber described the “harsh sound or crashing noise” emitted
from tin. He also describes iron as “sounding much” during
forging.
 History of First AE Experiments

 In 1920, Abram Joffe (Russia) observed the noise generated

by deformation process of Salt and Zinc crystals.“ The Physics
of Crystals” , 1928.
 In 1936, Friedrich Forster and Erich Scheil (Germany)
conducted experiments that measured small voltage and
resistance variations caused by sudden strain movements
caused by martensitic transformations.
 In 1948, Warren P.Mason, Herbert J. McSkimin and William
Shockley (United States) suggested measuring AE to observe
the moving dislocations by means of the stress waves they
generated.
 In 1950, D.J Millard (United Kingdom) performed twinning
experiments on single crystal wires of cadmium. The twinning
was detected using a rochelle salt transducer.
 History of First AE Experiments
 In 1950, Josef Kaiser (Germany) used tensile tests to
determine the characteristics of AE in engineering materials.
The result from his investigation was the observation of the
irreversibility phenomenon that now bears his name, the
Kaiser Effect.
 The first extensive research after Kaiser was done in the
United States by Bradford H. Schofield in 1954. Schofield
investigated the application of AE in the field of materials
engineering and the source of AE. He concluded that AE is
mainly a volume effect and not a surface effect.
 In 1957, Clement A. Tatro, after performing extensive
laboratory studies, suggested to use AE as a method to study
the problems of behavior of engineering metals. He also
foresaw the use of AE as an NDT method.
 Start of Industrial Application of AE
 The first AE test in USA was conducted in the Aerospace industry to verify
the integrity of the Polaris rocket motor for the U.S Navy (1961). After
noticing audible sounds during hydrostatic testing it was decided to test
the rocket using contact microphones, a tape recorder and sound level
analysis equipment.
 In 1963, Dunegan suggested the use of AE for examination of high
pressure vessels.
 In early 1965, at the National Reactor Testing Station, researchers were
looking for a NDT method for detecting the loss of coolant in a nuclear
reactor. Acoustic Emission was applied successfully.
 In 1969, Dunegan founded the first company that specializes in the
production of AE equipment.
 Today, AE Non-Destructive Testing used practically in all industries around
the world for different types of structures and materials.
Acoustic Emission Instrumentation
Typical AE apparatus consist of the following components:
 Sensors used to detect AE events.
 Preamplifiers amplifies initial signal. Typical amplification gain is 40 or 60
dB.
 Cables transfer signals on distances up to 200m to AE devices. Cables are
typically of coaxial type.
 Data acquisition device performs filtration, signals’ parameters
evaluation, data analysis and charting.
Preamplifiers Main amplifiers Measurement Circuitry
Sensors Computer
with filters with filters

Acquisition Data
software storage

Data presentation
 AE Sensors
 Purpose of AE sensors is to detect stress waves motion that cause a local
dynamic material displacement and convert this displacement to an
electrical signal.
 AE sensors are typically piezoelectric sensors with elements maid of
special ceramic elements like lead zirconate titanate (PZT). Mechanical
strain of a piezo element generates an electric signals.
 Sensors may have internally installed preamplifier (integral sensors).
 Other types of sensors include capacitive transducers, laser
interferometers.

Regular piezoelectric sensor Preamplifier 60 dB Integral piezoelectric sensor

 Sensors Characteristics
 Typical frequency range in AE applications varies between 20 kHz and 1 MHz.
 Selection of a specific sensor depends on the application and type of flaws to be
revealed.
 There are two qualitative type of sensor according to their frequency responds:
resonant and wideband sensors.
 Thickness of piezoelectric element defines the resonance frequency of sensor.
 Diameter defines the area over which the sensor averages surface motion.
 Another important property of AE sensors includes Curie Point, the temperature
under which piezoelectric element loses permanently its piezoelectric properties.
Curie temperature varies for different ceramics from 120 to 400C0. There are
ceramics with over 1200C0 Curie temperature.

AE signal of lead break and corresponding Power spectrum.

 Installation of Sensors on Structure
Type of installation and choice of couplant material is defined by a specifics of
application.
 Glue (superglue type) is commonly used for piping inspections.
 Magnets usually used to hold sensors on metal pressure vessels. Grease and oil
then used as a couplant.
 Bands used for mechanical attachment of sensors in long term applications.
 Waveguides (welded or mechanically attached) used in high temperature
applications.
 Rolling sensors are used for inspection rotating structures.
 Special Pb blankets used to protect sensors in nuclear industry.

Sensor attached Pb blanket in nuclear Waveguide Rolling sensor

with magnet applications produces by
PAC
 Methods of AE Sensors Calibration
 The calibration of a sensor is the measurement of its voltage output into an established
electrical load for a given mechanical input. Calibration results can be expressed either as
frequency response or as an impulse response.
 Surface calibration or Rayleigh calibration: The sensor and the source are located on the
same plane surface of the test block. The energy at the sensor travels at the Rayleigh speed
and the calibration is influenced by the aperture effect.
 Aperture Effect: U (t )  1  u ( x, y, t )r ( x, y )dxdy
A S

r ( x, y )  local sensitivity of the tranducer face

S  region (m 2 ) of the surface contacted by the sensor
A  area of region S
u ( x, y, t )  displacement (m) of the surface

 Through pulse calibration: The sensor and the source are coaxially located
on opposite parallel surfaces. All wave motion is free of any aperture effect.
AE Data Acquisition Devices
Example of AE device parameters:
 16 bit, 10 MHz A/D converter.
 Maximum signal amplitude 100 dB
AE.
 4 High Pass filters for each channel
with a range from 10 KHz to 200 KHz
(under software control).
 4 Low Pass filters for each channel
with a range from 100 KHz to 2.1
MHz (under software control).
 32 bit Digital Signal Processor.
 1 Mbyte DSP and Waveform buffer.
Principals of AE Data Measurement
and Analysis
 Threshold and Hit Definition Time (HDT)
Threshold and HDT are parameters that used for detection AE signals in traditional AE
devices. HDT: Enables the system to determine the end of a hit, close out the measurement
process and store the measured attributes of the signal.

Long HDT

Short HDT Hit 1

Threshold
Voltage

Short HDT

Hit 2

Time

Long HDT Hit 1

 Burst and Continuous AE Signals

Burst AE is a qualitative description of the discrete signal's related to

individual emission events occurring within the material.

Continuous AE is a qualitative description of the sustained signal

produced by time-overlapping signals.

“AE Testing Fundamentals, Equipment, Applications” , H. Vallen

 AE Parameters

 Peak amplitude - The maximum of AE signal.

dB=20log10(Vmax/1µvolt)-preamlifier gain
 Energy – Integral of the rectified voltage signal over the duration of the AE hit.
 Duration – The time from the first threshold crossing to the end of the last threshold
crossing.
 Counts – The number of AE signal exceeds threshold.
 Average Frequency –Determines the average frequency in kHz over the entire AE hit.
AE counts
A.F  [kHz ]
Duration
 Rise time - The time from the first threshold crossing to the maximum amplitude.
 Count rate - Number of counts per time unit.
 Background Noise
Background Noise: Signals produced by causes other than acoustic emission and are not relevant to the purpose of the test
Types of noise:
 Hydraulic noise –Cavitations, turbulent flows, boiling of fluids and leaks.
 Mechanical noise –Movement of mechanical parts in contact with the structure e.g. fretting of pressure vessels against their
supports caused by elastic expansion under pressure.
 Cyclic noise – Repetitive noise such as that from reciprocating or rotating machinery.
 Electro-magnetic noise.

Control of noise sources:

 Rise Time Discriminator – There is significant difference between rise time of mechanical noise and acoustic emission.
 Frequency Discriminator – The frequency of mechanical noise is usually lower than an acoustic emission burst from cracks.
 Floating Threshold or Smart Threshold – Varies with time as a function of noise output. Used to distinguish between the
background noise and acoustic emission events under conditions of high, varying background noise.
150

100

Floating
50
threshold
Amplitude

-50

-100

-150

Time
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800

 Master – Slave Technique – Master sensor are mounted near the area of interest and are surrounded by slave or guard sensors.
The guard sensors eliminate noise that are generated from outside the area of interest.
 Attenuation, Dispersion, Diffraction and
Scattering Phenomena
The following phenomena take place as AE wave propagate along the structure:
 Attenuation: The decrease in AE amplitude as a stress wave propagate along a structure due
to Energy loss mechanisms, from dispersion, diffraction or scattering.
 Dispersion: A phenomenon caused by the frequency dependence of speed for waves. Sound
waves are composed of different frequencies hence the speed of the wave differs for
different frequency spectrums.
 Diffraction: The spreading or bending of waves passing through an aperture or around the
edge of a barrier.
 Scattering: The dispersion, deflection of waves encountering a discontinuity in the material
such as holes, sharp edges, cracks inclusions etc….

 Attenuation tests have to be performed on

the actual structures during their inspection.
 The attenuation curves allows to estimate
amplitude or energy of a signal at the at the
given the distance from the sensor.
Source Location
 Source Location Concepts

 Time difference based on threshold crossing.

 Cross-correlation time difference.
 Zone location.
 Linear Location
 Linear location is a time difference method commonly used to locate AE
source on linear structures such as pipes. It is based on the arrival time
difference between two sensors for known velocity.
 Sound velocity evaluated by generating signals at know distances.
1
d  D  T V 
2
d  distance from first hit sensor
D = distance between sensors
V  wave velocity

Material Effective Shear Longitudinal

velocity in a [m/s] [m/s]
thin rod [m/s]
Brass 3480 2029 4280
Steel 347 5000 3089 5739
Aluminum 5000 3129 6319
 Two Dimensional Source Location
 For location of an AE source on a plane two sensors are used. The source is
situated on a hyperbola.
t1,2V  R1  R2
D  distance between sensor 1 and 2
Z  R2 sin 
R1  distance between sensor 1 and source
Z 2  R12  ( D  R2 ) 2
R2  distance between sensor 2 and source
 R2 2 sin 2   R12  ( D  R2 cos  ) 2
t1,2  time differance between sensor 1 and 2
R2 2  R12  D 2  2 D cos 
R1  t1,2V  R2   angle between lines R2 and D
Z  line perpendicular to D
1 D  t1,2 V
2 2 2

 R2 
2 t1,2V  D cos 

 Three sensors are used to locate a source to a point by intersecting two

hyperbolae using the same technique as two sensors.

Sensor 2
R2
R3
Sensor 3
Sensor 2 R2
R3 
R1
Z
D
Sensor 1
R1

Sensor 1
 Cross-correlation based Location
Δt

Ch 1

Cross-correlation function

Ch 2 C (t )   SCh1 ( )  SCh 2 (  t )dt

Δt
t  t max{ C (t )}
Cross-correlation method is typically applied
for location of continuous AE signals.

Normalized cross-correlation function

 Zone Location
 Zone location is based on the principle that the sensor with the highest
amplitude or energy output will be closest to the source.
 Zonal location aims to trace the waves to a specific zone or region around
a sensor.
 Zones can be lengths, areas or volumes depending on the dimensions of
the array.
 With additional sensors added, a sequence of signals can be detected
giving a more accurate result using time differences and attenuation
characteristics of the wave.
Acoustic Emission in Metals
 Sources of AE in Metals
Major macroscopic sources
of AE in metals are: crack jumps, plastic deformation development, fracturing and de-bonding
of hard inclusions.

Microscopic sources
includes dislocation movement, interaction, annihilation, slip formation, voids nucleation,
growth and interaction and many other.

bond More then 80% of energy

nucleation nucleation
connection
development growth Voids
fracturing expended on fracture in
branching interaction fracturing common industrial metals
……
Micro-crack crack Inclusions goes to development of
formation plastic deformation.
Possible combinations
Twining
Dislocations AE SOURCES
nucleation 6.9 10236
Phase
generation
changes
annihilation formation
migration motion Recrystalli-
interaction interaction Slip
zation
movement ……..
 Plastic Deformation
 Plastic deformation development is accompanied by the motion of a large numbers of dislocations.
The process by which plastic deformation is produced by dislocation motions is called slip. The
crystallographic plane along which the dislocation line moves is called the slip plane and the
direction of movement is called the slip direction. The combination of the two is termed the slip
system.(1)
 The motion of a single vacancy and a single dislocation emits a signal of about 0.01-0.05eV.
 The best sensitivity of modern AE devices equals 50-100eV.
Physical Activation
Process Energy (eV)
Dislocation 1.2
(1)Materials Science and Engineering an glide
Introduction, William D. Callister, Jr.
Formation of 8-10
dislocation
 Edge and screw are the two fundamental types of dislocation.

Edge dislocation Screw dislocation Mixed dislocation

Edge
dislocation
motion

1 2 3 4 5
 Plastic Zone at the Crack Tip
 Flaws in metals can be revealed by detection of indications of plastic
deformation development around them.
 Cracks, inclusions, and other discontinuities in materials concentrate stresses.
 At the crack tip stresses can exceed yield stress level causing plastic
deformation development.
 The size of a plastic zone can be evaluated using the stress intensity factor K,
which is the measure of stress magnitude at the crack tip. The critical value of
stress intensity factor, KIC is the material property called fracture toughness.

2
1  KI 
ry   
2   ys 
ry  plastic zone size in elastic material

Fracture Mechanics Fundamentals and Applications, Second Edition, T.L Anderson.

Factors that Tend to Increase or Decrease
the Amplitude of AE

Nondestructive Testing Handbook, volume 6 “Acoustic Emission Testing”, Third Edition, ASNT.
 Relationship between AE and
Fracture Mechanics Parameters
and AE Effects
 Models of AE in Metals
Plastic Deformation Model
 Plastic deformation model relates AE and the stress intensity factor (K1 ).
 AE is proportional to the size of the plastic deformation zone.
 Several assumptions are made in this model: (1) The material gives the highest rate of AE
when it is loaded to the yield strain. (2) The size and shape of the plastic zone ahead of the
crack are determined from linear elastic fracture mechanics concepts.
2
1  K1 
ry   
   ys 
  2 or 6 (plain stress or plain strain)
(3) Strains at the crack tip vary at r 0.5where r is the radial distance from the crack tip. (4)
N  Vp
N  AE count rate
Vp  volume strained between  y (yield strain) and  u (uniform strain)
 The assumptions lead to development of the following equations for the model (  2 )
2
 1  K 2   1  K 2 
2
 u4   y4 
V p    ry  ru  B   B      B
2 2
      K4
 2  E y    2  E u   4  4  E y u  
     
B  plate thickness
 Vp  K 4
 N  K4
 Fatigue Crack Model
 Several models were developed to relate AE count rate with crack
propagation rate.
N '  AK n (Eq.1) The relation between AE count rate and stress intensity factor
N '  AE count rate per cycle
K  Stress intensity factor
A, n  constants
da
 C K m
(Eq.2) Paris law for crack propogation in fatigue
dN
 The combined contribution of both plastic deformation and
fracture mechanism is as follows for plastic yielding:

N 'p  Cp K m K 2 Nc'  Cs K m

(1 R)2 (1 R)m

N 'p  AE count rate due to plastic deformation
Nc'  AE count rate due to fracture
N '  N 'p  Nc'
 AE Effects
 Kaiser effect is the absence of detectable AE at a fixed sensitivity level, until
previously applied stress levels are exceeded.
 Dunegan corollary states that if AE is observed prior to a previous maximum
load, some type of new damage has occurred. The dunegan corollary is used
in proof testing of pressure vessels.
 Felicity effect is the presence of AE, detectable at a fixed predetermined
sensitivity level at stress levels below those previously applied. The felicity
effect is used in the testing of fiberglass vessels and storage tanks.

stress at onset of AE
felicity ratio 
previous maximum stress

Kaiser effect (BCB)

Felicity effect (DEF)
Applications
AE Inspection of Pressure Vessels
AE Inspection of Pressure Vessels
 AE Testing of Pressure Vessels

Pressure Policy for a New Vessel(1)

Example of Transducers Distribution on Vessel's Surface(1) Typical Results Representation of Acoustic Emission Testing(1)

(1)Nondestructive Testing Handbook, volume 6 “Acoustic Emission Testing”, Third Edition, ASNT.
 Example of Pressure Vessel Evaluation
 Historic index is a ratio of average
signal strength of the last 20% or
200, whichever is less, of events to
average signal strength of all events.

N S 0i
H (t )  t  K 1
N K N

S i 1
0i

N – number of hits, S0i – the signal strength of

the i-th event, J – specific number of events
K=0.8J for J≤N≤1000 and K=N-200 for N>1000

 Severity is the average of ten

The numbers on plot correspond to events having the largest
sensors numbers.(1) numerical value of signal
strength. i 10
1
S av   S 0i
10 i 1
(1)Nondestructive Testing Handbook, volume 6 “Acoustic Emission Testing”, Third Edition, ASNT.
AE Standards
 AE Standards
ASME - American Society of Mechanical Engineers
 Acoustic Emission Examination of Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Vessels, Article 11, Subsection A, Section V, Boiler and
Pressure Vessel Code
 Acoustic Emission Examination of Metallic Vessels During Pressure Testing, Article 12, Subsection A, Section V, Boiler
and Pressure Vessel Code
 Continuous Acoustic Emission Monitoring, Article 13 Section V

ASTM - American Society for Testing and Materials

 E569-97 Standard Practice for Acoustic Emission Monitoring of Structures During Controlled Stimulation
 E650-97 Standard Guide for Mounting Piezoelectric Acoustic Emission Sensors
 E749-96 Standard Practice for Acoustic Emission Monitoring During Continuous Welding
 E750-98 Standard Practice for Characterizing Acoustic Emission Instrumentation
 E976-00 Standard Guide for Determining the Reproducibility of Acoustic Emission Sensor Response
 E1067-96 Standard Practice for Acoustic Emission Examination of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic Resin (FRP)
Tanks/Vessels
 E1106-86(1997) Standard Method for Primary Calibration of Acoustic Emission Sensors
 E1118-95 Standard Practice for Acoustic Emission Examination of Reinforced Thermosetting Resin Pipe (RTRP)
 E1139-97 Standard Practice for Continuous Monitoring of Acoustic Emission from Metal Pressure Boundaries
 E1211-97 Standard Practice for Leak Detection and Location Using Surface-Mounted Acoustic Emission Sensors
 E1316-00 Standard Terminology for Nondestructive Examinations
 E1419-00 Standard Test Method for Examination of Seamless, Gas-Filled, Pressure Vessels Using Acoustic Emission
 E1781-98 Standard Practice for Secondary Calibration of Acoustic Emission Sensors
 E1932-97 Standard Guide for Acoustic Emission Examination of Small Parts
 E1930-97 Standard Test Method for Examination of Liquid Filled Atmospheric and Low Pressure Metal Storage Tanks
Using Acoustic Emission
 E2075-00 Standard Practice for Verifying the Consistency of AE-Sensor Response Using an Acrylic Rod
 E2076-00 Standard Test Method for Examination of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic Fan Blades Using Acoustic Emission
 AE Standards
ASNT - American Society for Nondestructive Testing
 ANSI/ASNT CP-189, ASNT Standard for Qualification and Certification of Nondestructive Testing Personnel.
 CARP Recommended Practice for Acoustic Emission Testing of Pressurized Highway Tankers Made of
Fiberglass reinforced with Balsa Cores.
 Recommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1A.

Association of American Railroads

 Procedure for Acoustic Emission Evaluation of Tank Cars and IM-101 tanks, Issue 1, and Annex Z thereto, “
Test Methods to Meet FRA Request for Draft Sill Inspection program, docket T79.20-90 (BRW) ,”
Preliminary 2

Compressed Gas Association

 C-1, Methods for Acoustic Emission Requalification of Seamless Steel Compressed Gas Tubes.

European Committee for Standardization

 DIN EN 14584, Non-Destructive Testing – Acoustic Emission – Examination of Metallic Pressure Equipment
during Proof Testing; Planar Location of AE Sources.
 EN 1330-9, Non-Destructive Testing – Terminology – Part 9, Terms Used in Acoustic Emission Testing.
 EN 13477-1, Non-Destructive Testing – Acoustic Emission – Equipment Characterization – Part 1,
Equipment Description.
 EN 13477-2, Non-Destructive Testing – Acoustic Emission – Equipment Characterization – Part 2,
Verification of Operating Characteristics.
 EN 13554, Non-Destructive Testing – Acoustic Emission – General Principles.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

 IEEE C57.127, Trial-Use guide for the Detection of Acoustic Emission from Partial Discharges in Oil-
Immersed Power Transformers.
 AE Standards
International Organization for Standardization
 ISO 12713, Non-Destructive Testing - Acoustic Emission Inspection – Primary Calibration of
Transducers.
 ISO 12714, Non-Destructive Testing - Acoustic Emission Inspection – Secondary Calibration
of Acoustic Emission Sensors.
 ISO 12716, Non-Destructive Testing - Acoustic Emission Inspection – Vocabulary
 ISO/DIS 16148, gas Cylinders – Refillable Seamless Steel gas Cylinders – Acoustic Emission
Examination (AEE) for Periodic Inspection.

Japanese Institute for Standardization

 JIS Z 2342, Methods for Acoustic Testing of Pressure Vessels during Pressure Tests and
Classification of Test Results.

Japanese Society for Nondestructive Inspection

 NDIS 2106-79, Evaluation of performance Characteristics of Acoustic Emission Testing
Equipment.
 NDIS 2109-91, Methods for Absolute calibration of Acoustic Emission Transducers by
Reciprocity Technique.
 NDIS 2412-80, Acoustic Emission Testing of Spherical Pressure Vessels of High Tensile
Strength Steel and Classification of Test Results.
More educational materials on
Acoustic Emission available at
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